


Running Makes It Easier

by Linklyshow



Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Birdflash if you squint - Freeform, Domestic Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Flash - Freeform, The Flash - Freeform, barry is a supportive uncle, wally gets sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 16:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11421564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linklyshow/pseuds/Linklyshow
Summary: Wally loves being Kid Flash. Aside from the thrill of it, it's sorta an outlet for him when his home life gets too much to handle. So when a certain speedster finds out his nephew didn't show up to training, he goes and tries to find out what happened.





	Running Makes It Easier

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic does talk about child abuse but it isn't in too much deatail. However, if this might be harmful to you to read I encourage you to either not read or tread with caution.

The sun was setting and Wally was sitting on top of a tall building in Keystone City watching the clouds slowly float by and the busy people down below. His cowl was down and his legs were idly swinging over the ledge. 

He liked these moments where he was by himself without a worry in the world. Well, at least no worries at this exact moment. Wally didn’t show up at Mount Justice that day even though he was supposed to and he no doubt would be in trouble for it. Things were getting pretty heavy at his house and he needed to step out for a while. His parents seemed to be fighting more frequently and Wally may or may not have got caught in the mix. 

He didn’t think he would be able to hide how miserable he was feeling especially with how intuitive his friends are, namely Dick. He’d come back tomorrow though when he’s formulated a foolproof excuse why he failed to show up today. One that didn’t involve him explaining how his family is falling apart. 

He told himself he would never confess that to anyone. His problems seemed minuscule compared to the rest of the team's personal issues. Hell, Robin watched his parents die and you never see him skimp out on anything. But then again his mentor is Batman. 

Uncle Barry is more like a cool older friend than a mentor and usually doesn't mind what Wally does as long as it doesn't have any serious consequences. However, he can sometimes be sorta strict when it comes down to it. Wonder if he even knows a certain speedster was absent.

Suddenly there was a whoosh of wind that jolted Wally from his thoughts as he turned around. 

Oh Jeez, speaking of, that must have been Uncle Barry.

There was another whoosh from the other direction as his Uncle came back up the building to the rooftop. Barry’s feet must have been moving faster than his eyes cause he ran right past Wally the first time. However just Wally’s luck he came back up. Probably to scold him no doubt.

Wally just kinda stared at him for a few seconds. For some reasons he didn’t quite understand Uncle Barry was the last but also the only person he wanted to see at the moment.

However that worked. 

He knew almost for certain that he was going to get lectured about always having to be there for your team members or something along those lines. Despite that, there was always something very comforting about Uncle Barry’s presence that made him feel good and safe. 

“Hey Wal!”

Hmm so good so far.

Barry began making his way over to Wally and sat on the ledge next to him. However unlike Wally, he sat facing the rooftop, feet firmly planted on the ground as opposed to the younger speedster facing the edge dangling his feet. 

“Hi Uncle Barry.” Wally said in a not so chipper tone keeping his face forward looking down at his boots.

“So I uh I heard that you didn’t go to Mount Justice today. Is everything okay?” Barry tried to decipher Wally’s expression from the little bit of face he could actually see. Until Wally turned to reply. Now that Barry can see Wally’s face clearly he could see that Wally had a fat bruise close to his jaw.

Before Wally could reply he seen his uncle’s expression change as he looked at a spot on his face that wasn't his eye’s. Wally felt kinda insecure for a moment as he brought up a hand to touch his face.

“What? Is there something on my face?

He assumed he had dirt or something on his face that he didn’t know about. As a speedster, you have know idea what kinda stuff you run into or splatters onto you as you run at the speed of sound.

“Yeah a bruise, are you okay? What happened? Please don’t tell me you tried to do something crazy on your own.” 

“What? No, I didn’t do anything! I… I wasn’t even aware I had a bruise right here…” 

Wally stopped looking at Barry and just kinda pressed around his left cheek looking for a bruise until he found it and winced a little bit.

“Well… did something happen? Was it at school? Yanno Wally if someone is-”

Wally cut him off not caring too much to have this kinda conversation. He knew he was just worried about him but he just didn’t have the heart to tell his uncle what's been happening at home. 

“No, Uncle Barry, nobody is pushing me around at school I promise. I’m fine this will be gone in a couple of hours anyway so it doesn't matter how I got it.”

Barry took his cowl down because maybe that would make it easier for Wally to talk to him. Plus Wally’s cowl was already down so it just felt right. 

 

“It matters to me Wally… you and your Aunt Iris are my world and keeping you two safe is my number 1 goal. If there is something that’s happening that is putting you in danger I would like to know about it.”

Wally sorta fidgeted around for a couple seconds looking like he was having a war with himself. He desperately wanted to tell Uncle Barry but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. If he knew that his flash in training was scared of his own dad… Uncle Barry was going to think he was too weak or undeserving to be Kid Flash anymore. On the other hand, if he kept the truth away from the older speedster then he might be dubbed untrustworthy. Either way was a lose - lose situation in Wally’s mind.

But there was still parts in Wally that believed that Uncle Barry would never think like that. That's more like the toxic way his dad thinks, not The Flash. He would be understanding and forgiving. He would try and help in any way he can because that's what The Flash does. That's what Uncle Barry does. 

Wally’s mind was made up as he gave sort of a sigh and tried to begin his story.

“Well… um… my dad gave me this bruise…”

He looked over at his Uncle to see what kind of reaction he got. Wally was not the best at reading people’s expressions but his Uncle definitely didn’t look mad. He looked more like Wally just told him his pet died. Well if Barry owned a pet that’s probably what it would look like.

“What happened? What did he do??” Barry shot out questions eager to know the answers, hoping this wasn’t going where he thought it was going. Rudy did seem a bit aggro at times but Barry would never have thought that he would hit his own son. God he should have been paying more attention to Wally’s homelife. He hoped that if this was a sensitive situation and not an accident that it hadn't been going on for long. The last thing he wanted was for Wally to be scarred for life. He’s seen kids coming in from abusive homes at the police station he works at and it is unbelievably heartbreaking. His brain stopped going 1,000 miles a minute as Wally gathered the strength to give his explanation.

“Umm well… my Mom and Dad fight sometimes and it’s been getting kinda worse and… I tried to defend her and might have yelled at Dad some... and then he got mad at me and… I… I…” Wally was getting kind of choked up as he tried to explain what happened. 

Barry tried to put pieces together on his own so Wally didn’t have to explain so much on his own. “So he hit you?”

“Not exactly…”

Barry felt his heart drop. “Not exactly?” 

Wally straightened his back and made a big sniff sound. “No he doesn't hit me with his hands, when I get in trouble he kinda just...like...grabs the collar of my shirt and takes me to my room so he can... hit his belt on my back. Sometimes the buckle hits me too but this time it hit my jaw on accident, and I, I didn’t know... that it left a mark.” 

Wally fiddled with his hands for a few seconds as Barry processed this information.

“Wally I am so sorry that this is happening to you. Nobody should have to live in that kind of environment.” 

Barry was going to continue speaking but Wally interrupted him before he could begin his next thought. “Nono Uncle Barry it’s fine, I’m okay I totally deserved it. I shouldn’t have yelled at him like I did. That’s not my place to speak to him out of line like that.” 

Barry felt the anger rise in his stomach. “Is that what he told you? That you deserve it? Wally, nobody deserves to be treated like that. Especially someone as kind and brilliant as you. You did a very brave thing to try and protect your mother, but kids shouldn’t have to be protecting their parents, it should be the other way around. Your Father has absolutely no right to treat you like that and as long as I’m still around he won't ever hurt you ever again.” 

Wally felt himself starting to cry. “He won’t?” 

“No, and I’ll make sure of it. How long has this been happening?” 

Wally looked down at his hands trying to remember a time where this wasn’t happening to him.

“I...I don’t know...a long time I guess...”

Barry felt himself get extremely angry with Rudy. He would be damn sure to pay him a visit tonight. 

“I’m so sorry I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed this sooner Wally. I promise this will never happen to you again.” Wally was full on crying at this point so Barry meekly held his arms out to hug his poor nephew. Wally leaned into it and wrapped his arms around his Uncle. Barry did the same and gave a little squeeze to tighten the embrace. Until Wally made a sound, like a sharp intake of air, and pushed his Uncle away. Barry felt extremely upset at the amount of pain his nephew was experiencing both physical and emotional.

“Is your back still hurt? I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Barry wanted to talk and talk and comfort Wally as much as he could but he knew he had to try and slow down a bit so the young boy didn’t get overwhelmed.  
Wally wiped his eyes with the back of his red gloves as he tried to calm himself down. “Y-You just, I didn’t expect it to still be hurting I-I thought that it would be mostly healed by now...I guess I’m j-just a little slow today.”

Barry was pretty concerned for the well being of his nephew. He figured before he could deal with Rudy and getting Wally the hell out of that house he had to focus on solving the problems that were right in front of him. First, he probably had to assess the damage done to wally’s back and see exactly what he was dealing with. If it was bad enough to make Wally push away like that it might need bandages and such.

“Do you mind if I take a look at your back?...To see how bad it is… It’s okay if you don’t feel comfortable with that though.”

Wally looked up at Barry with an unsure expression then he nodded and began to zip down the front part of his suit. He had his suit halfway off so it looked like he just had a pair of bright yellow pants on then he kinda shifted his back so it was facing his Uncle. Barry waited for him to lift up the back of his shirt but he just sat still. So Barry took that as the green light to do it himself. He scooted a little closer and was about to but then figured he should give a little heads up just in case Wally is jumpy.

“I’m going to lift the back of your shirt up okay?”

Wally didn't look back or make any noise he just nodded his head and went still again. This lack of noise from his usually loud and hyperactive nephew was unsettling, to say the least. Barry really hoped that his loud self wasn't just a facade to hide the struggles of his home life because that would probably break Barry’s already breaking heart even more. 

Barry began to slowly lift up the back of Wally’s dark red shirt and already began seeing big, angry, red marks up and down the young boys back. Barry wasn’t sure what he expected but it sure wasn’t this. There weren’t any older marks but Barry came to the conclusion that it was because of Wally’s more rapid healing. Wally began to fidget slightly most likely getting uncomfortable under his Uncle's silent gaze or maybe simply because his back just hurts which both could be true. 

“Um, Wally do you mind if I take a picture of your back and your face for evidence? If your Father is going to get in trouble for this there needs to be evidence and with your accelerated healing I don’t think these marks will stay for much longer.” 

Wally looked towards his shoulder slightly and thought about it. His Dad was going to get thrown in jail for this...but If he didn’t and he knew that Wally had told someone who works with the police he would get in major trouble and get punished for sure. Then again Uncle Barry said he would protect Wally. Wally knew that he could trust Uncle Barry with anything and this was no exception so...It would most likely turn out okay. Wally turned over his shoulder a bit more and nodded.

“Yeah… do whatever you need to do Uncle Barry.” 

Barry dug into his suit and pulled out his phone and took some photos of Wally’s back. This was extremely distressing to see. Which is weird because Wally gets hurt ALL the time. Whether it be on missions or him just being a little too inattentive and running into things. Of Course, Wally getting hurt on missions is distressing to Barry too but this is completely different. This is a long-term trauma that most definitely has affected Wally in very negative ways. 

Barry met Wally when he was 6 and he is 15 now. At least 9 years have passed that Barry could have done something, noticed something or stopped it from happening any more than it already has! Deep down Barry knew he couldn't blame himself, though he couldn’t help but feel like he could have done something, anything. 

He can’t just keep focusing on what he didn’t do though, he needs to focus on what's happening here and now and what he CAN do to help save Wally, and right now he needs a picture of Wally’s jaw. Barry put Wally’s shirt back down and began to speak.

“Okay, Wally can I see that bruise on your cheek?”

Wally flipped around so that both his feet were on the rooftop and not hanging over the edge anymore. He looked straight ahead of him and tilted his head away from his Uncle to give him a better shot. Barry took a few pictures then lowered his phone. Wally had a few silent tears that made their way down Wally’s cheeks and Barry wiped one away with his finger.

As soon as Barry took his hand away Wally turned and looked up at his Uncle. The expression he gave was definitely something but Barry couldn’t quite put his finger on what emotion it conveyed. It was like he was happy and sad at the same time. He wondered if Wally ever received kind, endearing gestures from his parents. 

“What’s going to happen to Dad?” Wally asked all of the sudden.

Barry wasn’t sure how he should put this. He didn’t know whether he would be happy or sad to leave his father. Either way he had to put this delicately. 

“Well, you see Wal, what he does to you and your mom is against the law...So later I have to go to the police department and tell them. Then... he will most likely be put in jail. I know this must be very hard for you to have to bear. Nobody wants to see their father get put in jail trust me I know how it feels, but I cannot allow him to do this to you anymore.”

Wally stared at his boots for a few seconds and Barry feared he said something wrong until he replied.

“I see…” 

Barry stayed quiet analyzing Wally as he kicked some tiny pieces of rock. Then he stopped like he just had a thought and looked back up at his Uncle. 

“Wait if my Dad gets taken to jail...who will take care of me?”

Barry was taken aback from this question as he didn’t expect it. He hadn’t quite thought about that but he figured it would just be his Mother and him.

“Well… your Mom would.” 

Wally didn’t seem to take that as a satisfactory answer as he shook his head slightly.

“She left last night… when she and dad got into that fight she left. I thought she would be back by the time I woke up but she wasn’t… I don’t know where she went or how long she’ll be gone but I… I don’t...”

Barry’s eye’s widened as Wally’s breathing was starting to pick up. Barry knew he had to intervene right away and get Wally to start thinking about something else or he was going to have an anxiety attack. Barry brought both of his hands to the sides of Wally’s face and tried to gently get Wally to look at him.

“Hey, hey, hey, It’s gonna be okay, okay? Um hey! You can uh come and stay with me and Aunt Iris okay?” 

Barry desperately tried to get Wally to calm down but it kinda started to get worse. Much to Barry’s surprise, Wally started to vibrate. Barry did that often times when his emotions got a little too extreme too. However, Wally had never been able to do that yet. Barry was worried that if he didn’t get Wally to calm down quickly, he was going to vibrate himself right through this building they were sitting on top of if he sped up his vibrations anymore.

“You can come stay with us and we’ll have such a great time together! We can fix up the guest room you used to stay in when we used to babysit you as a kid yeah? And Auntie Iris will make that pasta you love so much and we can have movie marathons just like we used to!”

Wally’s breathing was starting to even out but he wasn’t responding to anything Barry was saying. 

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Barry asked in attempt to get a response and after a few seconds he did indeed get one. 

Wally shook his head yes and his vibrations were reduced to a minimum. Barry still had one hand on Wally’s cheek and the other was moved to his shoulder. Wally was holding on to the hand on his cheek leaning into the touch. 

“...Yeah...I… I would like that very much…” 

Barry smiled and sighed in relief. Wally’s eyes were closed and for the first time, Barry noticed how tired the boy looked. He must not get much sleep from all the fighting and such that goes on in his house, not to mention all the stress he’s obviously under.

Wally opened his eye’s and brought Barry’s hand down. Barry then took his other hand off Wally’s shoulder and grabbed the phone that was in his lap.

“Guess I better call Iris and tell her to get out the pasta!”

“...Hey, Uncle Barry?”

Barry looked up from his phone.

“How did you know I wasn’t at Mount Justice today?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have known at all if Dick didn’t come over to my house and tell me.”

Wally looked equally surprised and confused at that. “Wait so Dick came all the way to your house just to tattle on me?”

Barry laughed a little bit before explaining what happened. “No not exactly. He was telling me that after he found out that you weren’t at Mount Justice today he got really worried about you. He didn’t come over to my house to tell me about your absence, he came over to see you because he thought you lived with me. I guess he thought me and Iris were your parents.”

Wally furrowed his eyebrows as he processed the story. “And what did you tell him?”

“I just told him that you don’t live with us that you live in Keystone with your mom and dad. He was all embarrassed and said he didn't know they existed, that you never talked about them before. Which seemed weird at first… but now I understand why.”

Wally’s eyes got big for a moment as he sat up straight. “Oh my god he didn’t go to my house in Keystone did he??”

Barry shook his head. “Oh no, I told him I would check on you myself.”

Hearing Barry’s response seemed to pacify Wally as he started to slouch again. “Okay good...You have to promise me you won't tell anybody about why I was gone okay?”

“I promise none of your friends will know about this unless you tell them… but your friends are here for you Wally. They all care for you and would want to help any way they can. Whenever you feel ready don’t be afraid to reach out for help okay?”

“...Okay, thank you Uncle Barry.” Barry smiled and ruffled Wally’s hair before standing up.

“Don’t mention it kiddo, let’s go home.”


End file.
